By DENISE A. RAYMO
MALONE — An extra patrol rolls tonight for the Tupper Lake Police Department as Franklin County takes over dispatching duties from its 911 center in Malone.
The pilot project covers dispatching duties Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m., allowing more officers in the field instead of on duty at the dispatch desk.
Fire-department and emergency-services calls are already relayed this way in Tupper Lake.
A Tupper Lake police officer will be in Malone for the first two weekends as the program begins for the dispatchers, who have been in training since Jan. 10, said John Bashaw, deputy director of Emergency Services.
He told legislators Thursday that the initial reports on how much the change would cost were not on target.
Bashaw said the county projected it would cost about $8,000 to equip the agency and the officers with mobile- and stationary-radio equipment.
But it has cost only $1,100 for the necessary hardware.
Emergency Services staff will track the program for the next six months and report back to the County Legislature.
And if it is deeded a success, the pilot could be expanded to include the Saranac Lake and Malone police departments, Bashaw said.
Representatives from both of those villages have been included in the ramp-up for the Tupper Lake move and have been able to see for themselves what would be involved if that type of service expands to include them.
E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com
